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Saturday, February 16, 2013

The Whirlwind & The Storm

I'm still in my pink accent phase. Bear with me...

You have to give PINK credit for a positive attitude. Pink is rarely in a bad mood. A little showy sometimes, a bit obnoxious when she and her friends gather in large numbers, and she is definitely one of those who needs a lot of attention, but let's give her, her due. The room does light up when she walks in.

When it came time to paint the bread tray a couple of weeks ago (or whenever that was - the time/space continuum has been a little sketchy lately) I tested my color blends out on a piece of board that had broken when I was getting ready to make an arrow.

I was loving the color combo; raspberry paint, a bit of white and some shiny coral. Since I had the board already sloshed with color, I thought I'd try my hand at painting a sort of fun flower. The flower turned out nothing like I was trying for - it's laughable how unlike what I was attempting it is, however, its wispy look against the watery effect of the pink, coral and white paint made me think of it as being caught up in the wind and rain, which brought to mind a verse I find fascinating, Nahum 1:3. It seemed appropriate to paint the verse on the board.

Here was my test board, a misshapen piece of wood with an arrow drawn on it, which was still showing through the paint.

I wanted to put the verse on it anyway.

Figuring out the fonts and placement for the text was tricky. Getting it to fit just right onto the board was trickier. I'm challenged that way. I spent an inordinate amount of time on it, and in the end used a blank page on my computer and somehow or other figured out how to get the words to fit correctly even after enlarging the text. Lots of trial and error, that's all there was to it. And believe it or not, there is no way in the world I could blab long enough to ever explain all the things I tried. (This is where you breathe a sign of relief. Whew!) The task was, in the end, completed with tenacity, that's all. I am tenacious, because, well, I'm a "tedious project" magnet. Pure and simple. Tenacity has to be born somewhere. Mine is born of tedious and problematic projects that appear to be my lot in life. Maybe it's that I am their lot in life. That's probably more like it.

Once I had the verse reversed and printed on paper, I tried the transfer method I often use, which involves lightly wetting the paper and burnishing the words onto the surface. It didn't work. I had printed the text gray because we were almost out of ink, which didn't seem ink-heavy enough, and the ink didn't want to stick to the slick gloss of some of the paint anyway.

So I pressed on using the first copy of the text I happened to have on hand, because I almost always forget to reverse it the first time. I got it aligned and just scraped it into the wood with a utility knife... I know! So cavewoman of me. No, it was not easy using a utility knife for this (mainly because of the curves), but the attempts I made with an awl weren't working either. It did take a while, but hey, it got the job done. And I wanted "done"!

After scraping the words into the wood as though I was carving into stone walls with a piece of flint or whatever cavepeople used, I went over the indentations with a pencil. Sharp pencils are for amateurs. Pbbbht! I'm not about doing things right, easily or efficiently. I just like to keep moving even if the object within arms reach is highly unsuited to the purposes for which I intend them. I used the dull pencil sitting right on the counter, the one with a wood spot that kept finding its way to wherever I was trying to write. So annoying. Who knows where the nearest pencil sharpener is. The only one I know of in the house is for an eyebrow pencil, and I think it's somewhere in the massively overstuffed junk drawer in the kitchen. I would never stop mid-project to look there. Perish the thought. A dull pencil is annoying, but the kitchen drawer is maddening. I would use a paring knife to whittle off some of the pencil wood before I'd hunt through that drawer in the middle of a project. That would be like adding a whole nother project to the day. Uh, uh.

So I got the sign finished in all the hardest ways possible and highlighted the edges with a touch of white.

The verse says:"His way is in the whirlwind and the storm." Nahum 1:3

Some versions say: "He has his way in the whirlwind and the storm," which I might have rather used, but didn't want to have to try and fit in or scrape onto the wood even one extra word. Either way, you can be assured he's there. I have first hand experience with the whirlwind and the storm. I can attest that he is there. God is quite versatile, you know. A comfort and a help in times of trouble. Plus some things can only be gained through chaos, trouble, gut wrenching and soul searching times. We wouldn't choose them, but after the fact, it's plain as day. His way is in the whirlwind and the storm. Good out of bad. God's best out of what we perceive as the worst.

So I tried the little sign all over the house to see where it should go. I think it will be a traveling sign and for now, it will perch instead of hang. Whenever a splash of pink is needed, my little sign can be there at a moment's notice! Maybe one day I'll add some rope and hang it, but for now it's going out all on it's own. (Plus I wanted to call it done.)

On the table by the front door:

On the window on the table by the front door:

On the coffee table leaning against the wood box with the painted bottles:

In the box of wood by the "fireplace" where the lanterns are that I recently got from a yard sale:

In the Florida room on the aqua box:

Even outside as a storm was brewing:

Splish, splash.

An array of orchids came through the storm dressed in glistening droplets of water.

Pretty jewels.
Drip. Drip. Drip.

What can I say, he has his way in the whirlwind and the storm. He just does.

As for the guessing contest about my last haul. I really, really mean it this time...I'm going to post that with my next post about what I found this week. Seems more appropriate. Sorry for the delay.

Your images are amazing. I like your sign and the message. It was worth the time and effort. I smiled as I read through this post. I tend to get into tedious projects when I decide to take on a project.

First, the photography of the dripping orchids are beautiful. Second, I love the verse you chose and the pink sign. Third, do you ever have graphite paper around? As much as you do graphics, you should buy a box of the stuff. Fourth, tell me the blab!

I'm glad you stuck with it and called it DONE! So pretty and you know I love that color. I'm all for a traveling sign, love the casual look of placing it here and there. Love your beautiful "after the storm" pictures!

Thanks for coming by. I hope you'll say hello and let me know your thoughts. I'd love to hear from you! Unfortunately spammers have been at an all time high, so I will no longer be able to accept anonymous comments.